Pre-E3 06: Xbox Live goes everywhere

PC: World's richest man builds world's biggest gaming network

Bill Gates, CEO and chief software architect of Microsoft, is taking Xbox Live to a whole new level. Today, Gates told the E3 press that Microsoft’s Live Anywhere service will launch when the Vista PC operating system becomes available early next year. Live Anywhere will combine your friends list, messages, matchmaking and gamertag information across Xbox consoles, Windows mobile phones and drum roll please… your Windows Vista-powered PC.

Did he say matchmaking? Yes - you’ll be able to spot friends playing your favorite games and hit them up for co-op and versus play. Microsoft and developers seemed confident that players will find quality gameplay irrespective of their platform choice - even with first-person shooters. We watched a demonstration of multiplayer Shadowrun over the Live Anywhere service combining players made up of both console and PC gamers. There was nary a glitch, and gameplay was seemingly balanced. Consider us impressed.